Wood panel



Nov. 5, 1940. J. A. MALARKEY ETAL WOOD PANEL Filed A ril 19, 1958 Fgz,2E5.

. 8 v 5 w"? f 1 l 5 I In I l /N ENTURE JAMES A. MALARKEY mom c ERK SONPatented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES RATENT OFFICE woon PANEL OregonApplication April 19, 1938, Serial No. 202,841 I 1 Claim.

This invention relates to wood panels and the like, and moreparticularly to that class of wood panels having a plane or flushsurface. The invention is commonly used in the manufacture of stock fromwhich small doors and the like may be out, such panels being referred toas cupboard door stock."

It is an object of the invention to provide a panel which may be madewithout horizontal frame members or rails, and which may be cut to anydesired length without impairing the rigidity of the panel.

It is a further object of the invention to pro vide a panel withoutrails or horizontal frame members in which provision is made to greatlyminimize splitting of the panel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent froma careful study of the following description, wherein the significanceof the reference characters in the accompanying drawing and the detailsof construction of a wood panel embodying the invention, as well as theparticular advantages thereof, are fully explained.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wood panel embodying the presentinvention, the parts thereof being shown as separated one from anotherto illustrate their respective positions in a finished panel.

Figure 2 is a front or side elevation of a panel, the positions of thesplines and grooves being illustrated in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary end view of a panel illustrating a spline andgroove construction in a panel having a laminated core.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary end view of a panel illustrating aspline andgroove construction in a panel having a solid core.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary end view of a panel illustrating aconstruction in which the face sheets include cross-grain plies toprevent splitting of the panel.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary end view of a panel which has split along thetongue and groove joint between the stile and the core member.

The drawing illustrates a. panel consisting of upright frame members orstiles I--l, a core member generally indicated by the numeral 2, andface sheets or veneers 3-3. The construction does not embody horizontalframe members usually referred to as rails, an advantage of theinvention being that doors of any desired length may be cut from suchpa'nels, up to the length of the panel, without impairing the rigidityof the door.

Preferably, the core member 2 is of laminated construction, and is madeup of veneers in which the grain of the middle ply 4 is disposed at aright angle to the grain of the two outer plies 55. The stiles l----!are placed at the respective edges 5 of the panel for the purpose ofreceiving the screws or nails by which hinges 6 and latches I and thelike are secured to the edges of a door. In applicants construction thestiles ll are preferably not less than three inches in width, 10 andfully half of each stile may be trimmed away to reduce the width of thepanel without destroying the usefulness of the stile. Thus a panel 14inches wide may be reduced to 11 inches in width by trimming 1 inchesfrom each edge thereof 15 without impairing the stiles. By thisconstruction panels may be stocked in no more than four standard widths,namely, 14", 18", 22" and 26", which panels may be trimmed to producedoors of any desired width from 11 to 26 inches. 7 I 20 It will beappreciated that in a panel embodying such construction the weakestpoint in the panel is at the Joint between the core member and thestiles, and particularly between the core member and the stile to whichhinges are secured. 25 Ordinarily the grain in the face sheets orveneers 3-3 parallels the grain in the stiles and core member, and inthe event of any degree of failure of the glue bond the panel will splitalong the joint between the core member and the stile. In 30 doors andpanels employing the commonly used tongue and groove joint between thestiles and the core member, a partial failure of the glue bond oftenresults in the panel splitting in the manner illustrated in Figure 6. Itshould be re- 35 membered, however, that this problem is present only inpanels which do not employ rails, since the presence of rails or otherhorizontal frame members overcome the weakness of the panel at the jointbetween the stiles and core member, and 40 obviate the necessity for anyother or further means for strengthening the panel at this point.

Applicants panels do not employ horizontal rails, and applicants haveprovided splines 88 which engage with aligned grooves 9-9 milled 45 inthe abuttingopposed edges of the stiles ll and the core member 2. Thesplines 8,-8 are of laminated wood, wherein the grain of one ply isdisposed at a right angle to the grain of the adjacent plies. When thepanel is assembled 50 glue is applied to the surfaces and edges of thesplines 88 and tothe opposed edges of the core member and stiles, andthe splines are pressed into the grooves 9-9 as the edges of the coremember and stiles are brought together to hold 55 Q the stiles and coremember in rigid engagement. Because the splines partake of neither thecharacter of the stiles nor the core member, the splines will not permitthe panel to split at the union of the stiles and core member untilafter failure of the glue bond between the splines and the grooves.

I The stiles and core member, which together constitute the framework ofthe panel, are of the same thickness, and are overlaid with face sheetsor veneers 3-3 to make a panel having plane or flush surfaces.Ordinarily the face sheets consist of one ply of wood veneer, and inpreferred practice the grain of the veneer is disposed lengthwise of thepanel. Figure 5 illustrates an alternative construction, in which eachof the face sheets comprises two plies oi wood veneer, the grain of oneply of each face sheet being disposed across the panel, normal to thegrain of the wood constituting the stiles and core member. Thisconstruction obviates the necessity for a laminated spline as a joiningmember for the stiles and core member, the cross plies of the facesheets preventing splitting of the panel at any point across its width.

Having now described our invention and in what manner the same may beused, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A wood panel and the like comprising a pair of stiles of substantialwidth, a plywood core member of equal thickness with said stiles andpositioned therebetween and having at least one ply with grain normal tosaid stiles, all component parts of said core member extending the fulllength and breadth of said panel between said stiles whereby said coremember constitutes both a core member and end rails for said panel,aligned grooves in opposed abutting edges of the core member and stiles,a spline closely fitting said grooves to maintain the core member andstiles in rigid engagement and for preventing splitting of the panel atthe joint therebetween, said spline being made of plywood wherein thegrain of at least one ply is normal to the abutting edges of the stileand core, and a face veneer overlying said core member and stiles andpresenting a plane surface, whereby a door of any desired length, up tothe length of said panel, and of substantially reduced width, may be cutfrom said panel without sacrificing any of the structural featuresthereof.

JAMES A. MALARKEY. ANTON C. ERICKSON.

